Two Sides of a Coin
by Edlinklover
Summary: Sometimes you meet unlikely friends in unexpected places. Heavily AU-based.


Note: Technically, two more stories should exist before this one but I'm not making much progress on those two and really, they're not integral to this story. Literally the only context they'd provide is an explanation behind some of Fukase's reactions and feelings towards Piko (particularly after the first meeting)

That being said, this fic is in the same universe as my fanfic "Sekai No Hajimari" so I recommend reading that for more context, seeing as this fic is VERY AU-based.

Explanation of this Vocaloid AU: Spirits exist and people whose entire existence specializes in helping spirits move on also exist.

Fukase: it/its

Point: he/him

Piko: they/them

* * *

The sound of spilling coins rattled throughout the whole arcade. Fukase couldn't point out the source nor did it really care to. The flashing lights illuminating the UFO catcher prizes were mesmerizing enough.

Fukase and Point stood at one of the entrances, caught in the transition from the food court to the arcade.

"Oho, it's looking pretty lively," Point noted, observing from his place on Fukase's shoulder as kids scrambled from one game to another.

"Sure is," Fukase agreed, tearing its eyes away from a skilled taiko player in the far corner. Digging into its red pouch, it pulled out its wallet—a raggedy old one it had found abandoned a while ago—and fumbled with the opening. "Wonder how much we got here…"

Two thousand. Just two thousand yen and some change.

Fukase consulted Point with a questioning glance. Point shrugged his stubby arms in response.

Walking around the surprisingly big arcade, the pair came across a machine that didn't seem to be a game.

Looking over the instructions, it stepped forward and slid a thousand yen bill into the designated slot.

"Say Point, how does breaking money work?" It watched the hundred yen coins crash into the cup.

"Dunno kid, they do it with a hammer?"

Fukase had just picked up the cup when it stared down, as if perplexed by the coins in its possession. "What kinda hammer turns condensed tree pulp into metallic circular objects?"

"Beats me. Maybe the human world doesn't make as much sense as we think it does."

For a while, Fukase ambled about, traveling down the many aisles and scrutinizing the games like a fine detective, stopping occasionally to lean forward with a tight expression only to move on before finally settling on one: a medal game.

Another non-playable machine was nearby—most of the rattling coin sounds were coming from there. People were filling small blue cups with tokens for the games.

There was a brief line but once it was Fukase's turn, it inserted every one hundred yen coin it had into the slot. It was rewarded by the sound of a hundred and thirty tokens dropping into its cup.

With the newly-added weight settled, it returned to the token game it had decided on, circling around its occupants to find an untaken seat. There was only one.

Setting down the cup on the tray as it sat, Point hopped off of its shoulder. Fukase couldn't help but smile as it peered through the wide glass at the two rows of coins, one row sliding back and forth over the bottom row, glinting coins teasing over the edge.

"Alright Point," it said, determination fierce in its eyes as it turned its cup over, dumping the contents into the tray, "We've got a plan, don't we?"

Point saluted and picked up a coin, dragging it over to his post; the left coin slot.

Fukase took over the right, sticking its tongue out when it blundered on its first try, the token layering over another instead of pushing it.

The two got the hang of it. In the beginning, Point proved superior but Fukase quickly caught up in skill, its wins rivaling his.

It wasn't until the tokens had dwindled to roughly half of their original number that there was a voice. Over the loud noises and music, Fukase almost didn't hear it.

"…Excuse…me…"

Hand readied to insert another coin into the slot, it froze, blinking ahead into the glass.

Dismissing it as a trick of the ears, it released the coin. Just as it did, there was a tap on its shoulder—the left side.

It turned its head and jumped out of its seat, stumbling over with a yelp.

Bewildered, it stared up at the individual it had unknowingly been sitting with the entire time.

"Geez, you coulda given me a cardiovascular organ attack or something!" It clutched at the right side of its chest for emphasis. "Can't believe my sighters failed me like that!"

The heterochromatic set of eyes that peered down revealed no emotion in their half-lidded gaze. "I get that…a lot…" The stranger tilted their head. "…I think." Yawning, they rubbed their eyes blearily.

Fukase continued to stare for a while before it brought itself back to its feet, leaning against the metal tray's ledge. While often clueless, even it didn't believe that it could ignore any human's presence for so long, especially when right beside them. The stranger watched silently, their coin cup resting on the seat between their thighs.

"You're not a human?" it asked, bluntly.

A flicker of emotion—surprise maybe—flashed across the stranger's face, their eyelids subtly lifting for an instant. With a small smile, they asked, "Is that…something you usually…ask people?"

Unfortunately, a particularly loud noise had blasted just as they were speaking. Fukase put a hand to its ear.

"What was that? Didn't catch that! You gotta make better use of your vocal chords there or my hearing holes can't do their hearing."

The flat look returning, the stranger stared at it for a while before turning to their game.

"You two…made pretty…good progress…I guess." They picked up their coin cup, shifting the weight in it so the tokens slid around.

"Oh, right," Fukase rubbed a strand of hair between its fingers, "Sorry 'bout that, taking your sitting place I mean."

The stranger shrugged. "I fell asleep…That's my fault…sorta…" There was a pause. "There's a…pudgy thing here…"

"Way to POINT out the obvious," said Point, turning his nonexistent nose up. "The name's Point. And don't you forget it!"

There was no reaction, just a disinterested "Huh," of acknowledgement.

"Yeah, Point!" Fukase grinned, "He's a friend of mine."

"A…friend?"

"Only the best!" Point piped up.

Their mouth opened slightly. "Ah…that's probably why he…feels the same as you…"

Having heard only about half of what they said, Fukase frowned and began gathering the coins it had won into its coin cup and pulled on the stranger's arm.

"My hearing holes can't catch your sound waves all that well here," it said and gave them another tug, more gentle this time.

The stranger pulled back, loosely. "I didn't…get to play…though…"

Fukase gave them another wide grin. "Y'know, that's the great thing 'bout arcades in the human world! The games can't grow walking appendages and run off."

* * *

The food and drinks corner wasn't the quietest place. The noise of the arcades still sang and buzzed, but it was more secluded, sounds muffled by distance. Of course, there were still some people there mostly of an older age group, who eyed the odd trio over their books and magazines discreetly. Fukase sat in one of the chairs waiting as the stranger stood in front of the several vending machines.

"You sure you don't want anything?" Fukase asked Point, who was on the plastic arm of the chair swinging his legs.

"Yep, I'm good."

"Sure times two?"

"Sure times three ."

Fukase didn't have a chance to say anything else before the stranger returned with a can of coffee in their hands. They took a seat across from the pair. Fukase was the first to speak.

"You didn't answer my question, y'know."

The can opened with a hiss. "I didn't?" Holding the can in their hands, the stranger pondered. "…Oh…I didn't." They took a long sip of the coffee and paused. "What…was it again..?"

"You're not a homo sapien? Human?"

"Oh…nope."

"Not a spirit either?"

A shake of the head. "Nope."

Fukase twisted at a lock of hair.

They blinked. "Does that…bother you…?"

It looked up in thought. "It does make me feel kinda not-good I guess."

"Then…it's a yes…" The stranger took another long sip of their drink. "I don't think I…really get why you're bothered…You're like me…aren't you? A Spirit Unraveler…"

Fukase stared at them for a while. "…You coulda just said that at the beginning. Had me thinking you were a bloodsucker or something." Running a hand down its face, it leaned back in its seat with a sigh, then stiffened. "Wait, so how come I couldn't tell that?"

"It seems that…I don't have much of a presence…in the first place…so maybe that's why." The stranger got up to toss their can out but returned shortly.

"Piko," they said once they sat down.

Fukase blinked. "What's that?"

The stranger blinked back. "My name…People usually…want names after they…meet someone…"

Fukase waved its hand. "Nah, not me, though if you really want me to know I could try lodging it in my thinker. But I'm no good at personal word attachments so I don't go around asking for them." It gestured to itself. "If you wanna know the word I attached to myself, it's Fukase."

"Fukase," Piko repeated, their eyes beginning to close and head drooping like a wilting flower. "Good night."

Point stood up and looked over at the Spirit Unraveler who was suddenly fast asleep, sliding down the length of Fukase's arm to land on Piko's lap. He gave them a poke.

"…Oi, did they really hit the hay just then and there?"

Fukase waved a hand in front of their face. "Looks like it," it said, taking a step back and placing its hands on its hips. "Gee, if only my flesh sack would rest itself that quickly."

Lingering only a bit longer, it turned to walk away.

Frantic, Point hopped off of Piko. "Hey, wait kid, are you just gonna leave them like that?"

Fukase stopped. "Well, you're supposed to leave people alone when they're resting, right?" Its gaze dropped. "'sides, you know me. The kid's a Spirit Unraveler." Feeling the blood start to rush to its head, it twisted at its hair, a strand wrapping tightly around its finger.

"I think it's better if I stay away from them." Its voice sounded faraway to itself.

With a sigh, Point scrambled up to his usual place on Fukase's shoulder. "Whatever you say, kid. I'm just tagging along."

It tried to glance at Piko one last time but it somehow had already lost sight of them. It started walking away, placing its coin cup on top of the first arcade game it passed by, going for the exit.

"Y'know Point, it's probably no good we're in the same place anyways," Fukase said, staring straight ahead. "Leeks would vocalize my hearing hole off—" It rubbed its ear as if it was already happening.

Stopping for a second, it checked its wallet. "—and I think this is enough for the train to get us somewhere far off."

Pocketing it again, they left the arcade, heading for the nearest train station. Fukase didn't think it'd happen across Piko again, especially not by chance. And it didn't. Not until a few years later.

* * *

"Hey Point, check this out!"

Almost pressing its nose to the glass, it pointed a finger against it.

Inside the UFO catcher was a Hatsune Miku figurine, balanced on top of two thin bars. In the back of the machine were several boxes of the same figurine stacked into neat towers.

"Oho~ That Meeks was collecting these, weren't they?" Point commented with a chuckle.

Fukase's eyes darted around. "Say, how 'bout I try getting them one of these? What do you think?"

"Kid. Tell me you're joking."

With a big grin, it turned its head to Point. "Kidding!"

Crossing his arms, Point tried to look annoyed but his voice wavered with a suppressed laugh. "Ho—you almost had me. Made me think twice about whether I really knew you."

"Good thing you thought 'bout it a third time."

Point didn't have a chance to respond before the claw of the machine's sudden movement caught both of their attention.

"Huh? Guess someone's trying it out." Fukase commented, following the claw as it swung over the figurine and dropped. The figurine actually lifted, easily, and tumbled into the prize box with a thunk.

Jaw dropped, its eyes met the person at the controls.

Piko looked back from behind the glass, brows raised. "…Ah."

* * *

Fukase found itself standing in front of a vending machine with Point as it waited for Piko to finish speaking with a human. It pressed for the first hot drink it saw, hearing it thump and shudder into the dropout compartment. Taking it out, it didn't drink it but rather, only held it in its hands, the warmth melting away the numbness in its fingers.

Putting it against its cheek, it leaned against the side of the machine as it watched Piko nod their head and hand over the figurine box they had won in exchange for cash. Not once did Fukase look away as they concluded their deal and returned, the money already pocketed.

"What was all that about?" it asked.

Piko shrugged. "It was a...limited edition figure…I don't think I…meant for it to happen…but I've become well-known for…UFO catchers." Their eyes flickered to the can Fukase held. "What are you…doing?"

It took the can down from its face and shook it idly. "It's kinda cold here and I don't do well with cold." It held it out to them. "You cold too?"

With a faint smile, Piko shook their head. "I don't…do well with heat."

Surprised, Fukase withdrew its can. "That's too bad. Guess that means we don't mix together real well either."

"Like fire and…ice."

"Yeah, like that." Going to the tab, Fukase snapped the can open and took a sip. It immediately choked on the sweetness, coughing into the back of its hand. "What the—" It turned the can around to the front, examining the label: hot chocolate. No wonder.

Piko's face remained blank. "Poison?"

"Close." Fukase grimaced and held the can out to Point. "You want it?"

Point shook his head. "No-_can_-do. You drank from it already."

With a dejected sigh, Fukase continued to hold the can in its hands, running its tongue over its teeth and frowning at how the sugar seemed to stick. It raised its eyes towards Piko and lifted the can slightly, a look of defeat already on its face. "Once the molecules in this thing stop bouncing around, do you want it?"

"Sure…I don't…really care."

It perked up. "Great! Would've hated to waste it, y'know."

"We can't get sick…from germs anyway."

"See! You get it! Dunno why my buddy here's fussing 'bout that." Point turned his face away just as Fukase stuck a tongue out at him. It then looked back at Piko. "Say uh, Pikachu was it? Were there words you had to give me or something or did'ja just wanna talk? Since you told me to wait and all."

There was a slight frown on Piko's face. "My name's Piko…and yes I did…actually." Their eyes shifted away for a moment, darting to another side, lips pressed together before they lifted their gaze. "I'm…usually at these arcades alone…so I don't get to…play with anyone often…" Seeing no change in Fukase's expression, they continued. They were speaking to their shoes now. "Could you…play a few games with me?"

Fukase's eyes widened, mouth opening, then jaw clenching, its gaze dipping off to the side—"Gee, I'd really like to and all but see, I was planning to go somewhere far off again and I don't have a whole lotta money—"

Cutting it off, Piko stepped forward and clasped their hands around its wrists. The sudden action caused Fukase and Point to jump.

Fukase blinked hard, trying to make sense of Piko's expression; they looked angry.

Their hardened stare softened a little. "I can…pay for the games…or we can play the games I have at my place…" Their voice trailed off.

Gently, Fukase pulled its wrist away, holding its can up to them.

"I think this is cold enough," it said.

Piko looked, took it and backed away. Fukase exchanged uncertain glances with Point, tugging at the bands around its wrists.

"I'm not in a rush to get going anywhere," it admitted, "I'd feel pretty not-good if you used your trading circles on me though so I'll take you up on your second offer."

A small smile spread across Piko's face and they gestured towards Fukase. "Then…follow me."

With the can still in their hand, they headed out, pushing through small clusters of people and making their way to the front of the arcade.

Fukase lingered behind.

"Oho~They might be opening up a bit!" Point said from its shoulder.

"You think?"

"Did'ja see that smile?"

Fukase thought back to it; it did feel pretty unusual. "You're not wrong." It froze, turning its head left and right. "Ah geez, I forgot I was supposed to be following the guy. Where did they go?"

Point groaned. "What am I gonna do with you? Head for the front, get a move on!"

* * *

Following his directions, it found Piko against the wall of a nearby alleyway, seemingly asleep. The can in their hands had not fallen, their grip frozen around it. Fukase was about to tap their shoulder before their eyes snapped open.

Shifting the can to one hand, they used the other to shuffle around in a pocket, fishing out a small, round pocket mirror. Flicking it open, they knelt down and placed it on the ground.

"You can…go ahead…I need to finish this." They took a sip of their drink as if proving their point.

"Alright." Fukase knelt down, touching the mirror with a finger. The familiar light shot it through to the destination, its eyes involuntarily closing to the brightness.

Its feet meeting solid ground, it forced them open, holding its arms out for balance as it took in its new surroundings.

A Spirit Unraveler's world was a place special and unique to them, thus it hadn't been invited to many of them until this point. Not having one of its own, it didn't know what it expected. When the entire expanse of it was revealed, it couldn't help but gawk.

Rather than looking like a house or anything concrete, it seemed like a giant sphere with wires, both exposed and not, dangling from the ceiling. TVs embedded into the walls shifted around as if they had minds of their own, as if moving through water. Binary code occasionally flickered into view, dissolving into static then nothing.

Point whistled. "Impressive. That kid sure loves their technology."

"Tell me 'bout it." Looking around the place, however, it noticed it was actually surprisingly empty. There wasn't anything around that resembled furniture, save for the TVs.

"I hope I didn't take long."

The voice startled it and it turned towards Piko. They still held the can in their hands.

"I couldn't…find a trash can." The can they were holding disintegrated into ones and zeroes, spinning into the air and disappearing.

Fukase grinned. "Spirit worlds sure can be handy."

They nodded. "I can…do that to anything," they looked at Fukase, "…or anyone."

The grin became edged in concern. "Are you trying to say something?"

Their face was serious but a smile managed to creep onto their face. "It's…a joke." They stepped forward, raising a hand.

Hearing a noise from above, Fukase looked up. The ceiling creaked and spread open, like the petals of a flower. What was once the walls disappeared.

The new area they were in was an endless expanse of white but the floors were like motherboards, blue and gray. From this floor, a TV rose along with a rectangular block set a few feet in front.

Fukase glanced around: the place was still empty—even emptier than before if that was possible.

Piko approached the TV, stopped short, knelt, and from beneath the palm of their hand, an unfamiliar game console materialized. They moved towards Fukase, two controllers appearing as they walked.

"Do you…know how to play?" They handed over one of them.

"Depends on the game," it said, taking it, "I catch on pretty quick though." It studied the object intently, feeling the smooth, glossy material.

Piko looked at Point. "Does…your friend play…too?"

Before Fukase could answer, Point piped up. "I do but I'll leave you two alone. It's about time I hit the hay anyway." Without further ado, he crawled down Fukase's arm, struggled to open its pouch and struggled, but succeeded, in slipping inside.

There was a small frown on Piko's face but they didn't say anything, only moving to the rectangular block they had conjured earlier and took a seat, glancing back at Fukase and patting the space beside them.

Getting the hint, it came around and sat, still fixated on its controller.

"Are there…any games you like?" Piko shifted their feet slightly.

Fukase looked up in thought. "Honestly, I dunno. I've played board games and arcade games but I'm not good friends with TV games." It paused. "Come to thinkit, I don't think I've ever played one."

They went silent, staring blankly into the TV screen. Another block pulled up from the ground near them with a pair of outlets. Fukase hadn't noticed Piko's USB cord-like attachment until they picked it up and plugged it into one of the sockets. In that instant, the TV flickered to life.

A shiver ran up the bare skin of its arms, goosebumps prickling. It rubbed them down with its free hand as the cold seeped through the fabric of its leggings. The sudden realization of the drop in temperature startled it. Was it really this clueless or did the room only now get cold?

Leaning forward, bangs slipping partially over their eyes, Piko blinked.

"Are you…cold?"

"Nah, I'm just shaking 'cause I feel like it."

"…" Binary code flickered. A faint hologram of a blanket formed, swelling with blue until it popped into existence over Fukase's trembling body. It appeared over its head so immediately, it dropped down, draping from its head down its shoulders until it bunched up around its lap in streams of creases and folds.

"Thanks." It gathered up the blanket and spread it more comfortably over itself.

"Is this game…alright?" On the screen were intense-looking mascot type creatures battling each other, obscured by special effects and bright lights. Flashing over this montage was the logo, presumably the title of the game: "Super Mascot Bros."

"Sure," it said, holding the controller up. Piko held up their own and pressed a button to bring them past the title screen.

The basics of the game seemed simple enough. Each person selects a mascot character and then battles with them for a designated amount of time on a selectable stage.

"Ah," Piko said, hovering their selection tool over a shy crab-based mascot, "they added…Kaniko-chan…I heard rumors…that they would…"

"Who's that?"

"A mascot character of a supermarket…she's gotten more popular…than the market itself."

"Huh." Fukase kicked its boots off and retracted its legs into its blanket bundle. A frown pulled at the side of its mouth and its brow furrowed, it moved its cursor over each mascot character, scrutinizing it, then moving to the next.

After doing this for a while, Piko suggested randomizing.

"Good idea," it said and moved its cursor to the randomize slot. A beady-eyed no-mouth cheetah posed weakly into a battle stance showed up, the name "Chii-kun" flashing. Fukase considered him then shrugged, confirming its selection.

Piko had already made their choice of Kaniko by then and the two were brought to the stage selection screen. Fukase immediately pointed to one.

"I like that one." The stage was cartoony and colorful and was set on a ship placed between paper cutout-like waves.

Piko set their cursor over it. "I do too."

As the stage loaded, Fukase glanced over at Piko to find there was a faint smile on their face, eyes illuminated by the screen. That, in turn, prompted Fukase to send over a wide grin and nudge their elbow playfully.

Their gaze turned to it and they looked surprised but they went back to smiling quietly at the screen.

Not only was the stage set on a ship, it was moving, bouncing over the foamy animated waves with clouds billowing in the backdrop.

Fukase fumbled with the controls as soon as its character appeared on screen, messing with the arrow keys and thumbing its joystick all the way to the left. "How do you move th—" As soon as the battle started, its character shot off to the left and was blasted offscreen with a despairing yowl. Its jaw went slack and it was still staring blankly as its character was brought back to life, flown to the top of the stage and translucent with temporary invincibility.

"Oh yeah…I forgot to mention…but Chii-kun is…fast…"

"Should've guessed." If there was one thing it knew, it was that cheetahs were light on their feet, but it somehow didn't expect that to factor any in this game.

The controller was also highly sensitive, or maybe it was just the character it was playing, but the slightest touch against the joystick moved the little cheetah. Applying too much pressure was easy.

Piko on the other hand seemed to have no issues, brandishing their character's claws and sending Chii-kun's damage percentage skyrocketing until he was blasted off into the distance.

Piko won by a landslide. Kaniko took a victorious stance, raising her claws high above her head and hopping around. Chii-kun sat on the ground, cartoony tears of defeat rushing from his eyes.

With a sigh, Fukase set its controller down and put its chin on top of its knees. "Ouch. Better luck next time for me, huh?" But when it glanced over to Piko, it found them asleep.

When they woke up, the pair played some more rounds. Unsurprisingly, it was discovered to be a habit of Piko's to doze off as soon as the action was over. Fukase switched fighters each round claiming it had to find the best one. They also invited Point to join when he woke up but retracted the offer after they both were mercilessly pummeled. Point aside, Piko won most often although Fukase could hold its own against them. In the end, it never decided who was the best character to fight with, concluding that it was impossible to.

"Uh…I was wondering…earlier…" Piko said after they had awoken from another nap. Fukase tore its attention away from its game of rock-paper-scissors with Point, its hand still in a fist. "What?"

"Do you…have a Spirit World too?"

"Oh. No."

"I…had a feeling…" They yawned, clasping their hands together and stretching them out in front of them. Picking up the controller, they asked, "Is there…a reason?"

"Why're you asking?"

The cursor on the screen hovered above each stage as Piko scrolled through the choices, confirming their selection with a press of a button. "…I'm curious?" It was presented like a question.

Fukase hesitated, watching the bar on the loading screen fill up. "Don't make fun of me or nothing, alright? I just like being out in the human world and there's not much sense in going through the hassle if I'm never gonna use it." It readied its controller as it saw the fighters appear on the screen. It was careful not to bump the joystick. "If I had one, maybe we wouldn't be talking right now."

Piko readied their own controller as the numbers counted down to one. "I guess," they said and once the battle started, they said nothing else.

There was no clock so it couldn't tell how long it'd been. When its joints began to ache from sitting too long and it was feeling more tired than usual, it set down its controller.

"Hey Pikachu, it's been a good time but I think I should get going."

There was a hollow sadness in their eyes when it looked at them. "Okay…"

While Fukase was putting its boots back on, Piko came over and stopped in front of it. Behind them, a circular shape was filling with the familiar ones and zeros before a large mirror popped into existence. As this happened, the blanket that it had been using disintegrated into thin air and it rubbed its arms, now exposed to the cold.

"This should…take you back…"

It smiled at them. "Hey, thanks! See you around."

They nodded in response, stepping away. Fukase approached the mirror, placing a palm on its cool surface. The usual warm light spread from its fingertips and it closed its eyes. It opened them to the cold and wet alleyway in which Piko had left the locket, drenched by the night rain.

Fukase sighed as it noticed it was still drizzling.

"So what did you think?" Point was on its shoulder suddenly. Fukase started walking.

"What do you want me to think?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking they were a good kid."

It didn't respond, sneezing indifferently and continuing to walk, not having anywhere in mind.

* * *

Notes:

I started writing this fic in 2017 when I was visiting my grandparents in Japan and I may even delete this, but I'll try not to let insecurities get to me long enough to make Part 2! If I never manage to make part 2, I think this story is okay as a standalone, albeit a bit uneventful and doesn't touch upon why it was important to Fukase's character to make this story.


End file.
